AAC Swim/Dive Championship

[AusTxPony]

They begin tomorrow. I remember when SMU was in the top Ten nationally, but now can't win our own conference. Why not? With a new facility, we should have no trouble recruiting.

[horsemanx]

They begin tomorrow. I remember when SMU was in the top Ten nationally, but now can't win our own conference. Why not? With a new facility, we should have no trouble recruiting.

I thought the new Natatorium was supposed to help.

[RGV Pony]

They begin tomorrow. I remember when SMU was in the top Ten nationally, but now can't win our own conference. Why not? With a new facility, we should have no trouble recruiting.

Kind of a challenge at least on men's side when we are doling out half and quarter scholarships.. 30k here for half vs 30k at Auburn for the whole thing

[Water Pony]

It does concern me that recruiting remains a continuing challenge.

Our swimming & diving legacy combined with a first class university located in Dallas should be highly valued by recruits.

The alumni of this legacy expect a return to Top 10 or minimally Top 20. Our new facilitates now supports our aspirations and should underscore our commitment to the highest levels of competition.

Perhaps we need another couple of recruiting classes but it is concerning that we haven't seen a couple of bigger recruits coming our way.

[ponyswim]

In 2019, unfortunately it does not seem that high school recruits with the desire and ability to be national level competitors have any belief that SMU is a place where they should go to achieve those goals.

[AusTxPony]

Well then, the glaring question is WHY? It would be nice to find out why they don't look at SMU and do something about it.

[PoconoPony]

It is all about recruiting and we still have few inroads and not enough efforts in attracting US kids. Positive side is that Lindsay Olsen, Associate Director of Public Relations is posting email/text up-date notices re the currently ongoing AAC championships. The spin of " podium finishes " is a bit embellished when you factor in only 5 teams competing. Louisville a very deep national power dominating. Lack of depth is totally apparent for both of out teams supporting Water Pony comments supra.

[SwimStang89]

I think we still need a couple more recruiting classes to really be in good shape. We've got a couple really great swimmers coming in next year that will immediately help with depth. The lack of a proper facility a few years ago really put a damper on our ability to recruit. The main issue that's gotten worse over the years is that at SMU and other private (read: expensive) colleges, the cost to the student due to scholarship limitations is much greater than at public universities. Realistically you need at least 20 good swimmers if not more for depth purposes, with only roughly 9 scholarships available for men's swimming per NCAA limits. If a high school senior is getting recruited by SMU and Texas or A&M, most likely they're looking at either walking on or at most receiving a partial scholarship. It's very rare for a freshman to receive a full scholarship straight out the gate. That means when it comes to finances they're looking at a cost of attendance that is almost 3 times more expensive per year. If you look at the conference standings, you'll notice East Carolina and Cincy have way more depth when you look at the psyche sheets. We may have 2-3 swimmers in the top 16 of an event and they'll each have 5-6. Coincidentally, their cost of attendance is in the same range as Texas or A&M. It's a lot harder to get quality recruits interested in the university when you're asking them to shell out $65k a year to attend, especially if they have a harder time getting academic/need based scholarships to fill the gap.

[mtrout]

Yes but hasn't this always been the case???

[ponyswim]

On the women's side we have 2 women that have chance to qualify for NCAA's. On the men's side, likely none. So it is really not about depth. We just don't have anyone that is very good. This morning in the men's meet, we had 1 swimmer in the top 8 in a very weak conference. That is absolutely incredibly poor for SMU.

[gostangs]

Should have saved 40 million, ditched S&D and started a D-1 lacrosse program.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Probably a class and a half away.

[PonySnob]

Should have saved 40 million, ditched S&D and started a D-1 lacrosse program.

Big time swim center donor got to move to the first row of section 204 with the Moody reseat!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Should have saved 40 million, ditched S&D and started a D-1 lacrosse program.

Big time swim center donor got to move to the first row of section 204 with the Moody reseat!

Their donation at the same level will be very welcome next year if they want to keep their seats!

[One Trick Pony]

Million dollar donations and sitting above the rail?